Six Flags Magic Mountain

Billing itself as having more world-class roller coasters than any other destination, this theme park roughly an hour’s drive northeast of Los Angeles is a daredevil’s paradise. Teens and young adults flock here to get spun, flung, and plummeted on rides with names like Goliath, Twisted Colossus, Viper, Sling Shot, and Apocalypse—you get the picture. Comic-book heroes get a nod here too, as on the Superman: Escape From Krypton mega-ride. If you need a place to settle your brain back into your skull, or if you have little ones who aren’t quite ready to ride a chair upside down at 65 miles/105 km per hour, head for mellower Bugs Bunny World, with pint-size rides and dressed-up Looney Tunes characters saying hi to the kids.

For a cool retreat in summer, bring your bathing suits and head to adjacent Hurricane Harbor, where you can have slip and slide on more than 20 water slides, ride a make-believe African river, and relax beside a tropical lagoon. The harbor is open May through September.

See a movie star. Sip a cocktail on a rooftop bar at sunset. Slip on a pair of designer shoes in an ultra-luxurious boutique in Beverly Hills. Play at Universal Studios Hollywood theme park, explore world-class museums, or dance the night away in a starlet-filled club. Welcome to California’s liveliest city, entertainment capital of America, with megastar wattage and nonstop activities.

For the fifth and final day of your Los Angeles itinerary, it’s time to get serious about the museums you might have missed. This means starting the day in DTLA at the Museum of Contemporary Art, which specializes in art created since 1940....

The genus of the state’s official flower, the California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is named in honor of Dr. J. F. von Eschscholtz, a surgeon and naturalist who explored the California coast with Russian expeditions from 1815 to 1818.

Trip
8-10 days
10 stops

Ultimate Southern California

Your trip begins in California’s largest city. L.A. has nonstop action and things to do, but it can be a challenge to navigate, so planning your trip in advance is a big plus. Start in the coastal city of Santa Monica, with a wide, uncrowded beach, a signature pier topped by carnival rides and...

Famous for their giant sequoias, soaring mountains, deep canyons, and roaring rivers, this tandem set of parks have plenty to see, even though they are less well known than Yosemite, roughly 75 miles/120 kilometers north. Within the borders of...